


September 3, 1923

by clato27



Category: Captain America
Genre: Kid Bucky, Kid Steve, M/M, Natasha and Sam save the day, Pre- serum Steve Rogers, Time Travel, after wrecking it in the first place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 07:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3478802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clato27/pseuds/clato27
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shortly after the collapse of SHIELD, Natasha Romanov and Sam Wilson are sent back to the past to stop Steve Rogers and James Barnes from meeting. But, when they return to the present, they find their world controlled by HYDRA and in ruins. Turns out a friendship can mould the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

January 10, 2015

It had been months since the fall of SHIELD. Natasha had gone to Russia, all over Europe actually, completely cutting herself off from her life as an agent. She had only talked to Clint and those were short phone calls between missions that really only consisted of "where are you now?" and "We can do that when I get back."

But the world she came back to was worse then the one she left.

The Winter Soldier- Bucky- was on a rampage, killing people in masses and blowing up buildings all over the U.S. and Europe. He had gone rouge since Steve had broken threw the brainwashing on that helacarrier. Steve had been running himself ragged chasing after Barnes. He followed him threw ten countries, barely eating and sleeping, just trying to find his friend.

Natasha hadn't seen it happen, but that made it even scarier. She had left knowing Steve to be the strong man recovering at the hospital and returned to see the dark circles under his eyes and he looked thinner- more like the Steve Rogers from before the war.

"Cap. Captain. Steve!" Natasha repeated, watching Rogers pack his bag. Apparently Barnes was seen in San Francisco and Steve was on the next plane there. "Captain! You can't do this. You can't go chasing after him. He's not the James you knew. He can't be."

Steve had just looked at her- a ghost of his past self. Eyes red, nose swollen, and skin pale. "He's in there, Natasha. I can get threw to him."

"He will kill you!"

"If he could he would have already!"

She asked Sam about that comment later. "What did he mean by that?"

Wilson sighed, looking at Rogers asleep a few seats away. "Bucky doesn't shoot at him. Steve always puts himself right in front of the gun, but he never shoots. He knows Steve, but he doesn't know Steve. Cap has hope he will, but I'm not sure Bucky will ever remember him."

"You think the world would be better if they never met?" Natasha asked. Sam's eyes turned to her.

"Maybe," he said and the rest of the flight was spent in silence.

XxXxX

"Stark, I need your help," Natasha said into her phone speaker. She hated herself, but Tony Stark seemed to be her only option at the moment.

"Yeah, yeah. What else is new, Romanov?" Stark asked.

Natasha rolled her eyes. Boy, he can be such a shit. "Have you ever thought about time travel?"

There was a whole minuet of silence. Natasha legitimately thought he had hung up or lost signal before he spoke again, "I might have some ideas. Why?"

"This isn't something we can talk about on the phone. It involves Cap and Barnes. I'll talk to you about it when we get back, okay?"

"Okay." 

XxXxX

January 13, 2015

It was worse then what Sam had described. Bullets flying, bodies and buildings burning, and Barnes killing everything that crossed him.

He didn't wear a mask or goggles and his hair is whipping in his face. His expression didn't change. His lips were pulled in a tight line, his blue eyes hard and cold.

The most unsettling thing was the people. They approached him running, with guns ready in hand, but as soon as they recognized him, the guns lowered. Then they were shot down by the soldier without a second of hesitation.

The Steve dove in front of him. The soldier's expression didn't change, Steve swears that his eyes softened, but the gun didn't lower. It remained pointed at the Captain's chest.

Steve kept repeating how good of a person Bucky was- is- a good person. That he could come back from his he just had to snap out of it.

Then Bucky's gun moved upwards towards Rogers's head and two shots were fired. The bullets whizzed by Steve's ear by a mere hair and lodged themselves in the skull of a man with a gun.

Then Steve was tackled to the ground by Wilson and Barnes disappeared like a vampire in the night. All he left behind was ruin and a broken man.

XxXxX

"Stark, we need it as soon as possible."

"It's already done."


	2. Chapter 2

January 14, 2015

"You know this can have catastrophic results right?" Tony asked, not looking away from his computer. "Like, if you two get found out or if someone is even a bit suspicious of you. That can change the whole future." 

"What about killing Barnes? You think that'll change anything?" Sam asked. 

Tony took a swig of coffee and his eyes flitted to Sam. "I don't know. Doubt it. Cap-sickle probably be the same man without his amnesiac boyfriend- we already know that. He'll cry over it, mourn for a bit, then enlist and try and go fight in the war like his pop. It'll happen the same way as it did, only minus the killer ex-BFF." 

Natasha rolled her eyes at Stark's sarcasm. "So how are we supposed to go unnoticed?" She asked. 

"Got some of Mom and Dad's stuff somewhere around here. As long as you don't draw any- and I mean any- attention to yourselves you'll be fine." 

Within an hour, Natasha was back in the lab. She was wearing a dress, blue and classy, with white gloves, pantyhose, and heels complete with a hat. She had even curled her hair in the perfect way that all woman had it back then. Sam was in slacks and suspenders and a pressed white shirt. Their guns were packed in an old suitcase of Howard Stark's along with a forties slang dictionary Tony threw in there as a joke. They had bracelets that completely changed their appearances, just in case of a dire emergency, but they haven't been tested so they plan on staying far, FAR away from those. 

"Here's your "time machine." It is not a toy and you two are not to play with it. Pretty self explanatory, type in the date and it should drop you there at around midnight," Tony instructed placing an old flip phone in Natasha's hand. 

She raised a questioning eyebrow and Sam asked, "are you sure this will work." Natasha and Tony both know it'll work, but Sam was still the new guy. He hasn't learned never to doubt a Stark. 

"Dad came up with the formula, I put it together. It works." 

"Did you test it?" 

"Of coarse I did. Do you think I'm a moron?" 

"Just show me how it works, Stark," Natasha said and flipped it open. Stark showed her how to set in the date and go- just like typing on the phone. 

The next thing Natasha knew she was standing in the middle of an empty lot where Stark Tower will stand in about seventy years. It was the middle of the night, snowing, and the year was 1940. 

XxXxX

December 23, 1940

Their plan was not as thought threw as they thought. 

Even though there were thousands of books and movies and museums about Captain America, none of them had much information on Steve Rogers or James Buchanan Barnes. Sam and Natasha didn't know where they lived or where they worked over even if they're living together. 

"Do they have phone books in the '40s?" Wilson asked. They were sitting in an all hours diner. Thank God Stark had given them a few grand in early 20th century currency (not daring to question where the hell he got it from). 

A waitress,Angie according to her name tag, came over to take their orders and Natasha asked, "you don't by chance have a phone book here, do you? My husband and I have seemed to misplace the address of the place we are staying." 

"A phone directory, you mean? I believe we have one in the back. I'll go check for you ma'am," the waitress said with a smile. 

"Thank you," Natasha smiled back before turning to Wilson. 

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Don't look so smug. I gave you the idea, honey." 

She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee. The waitress came back a minuet later with a large book in hand. It will take them forever to find them. 

Three hours and a lot of complaints- all from Wilson- about missing the internet later, they finally had the address of James Barnes and Steve Rogers. 

It was late by the time they found the place and found refuge on top of the building next door. From there they had a good enough view of the small apartment. They could see the doorway to the small kitchen, the couch was in full view as well as the stick of a Christmas tree they had in one corner. The blinds to the bedroom were shut. 

Steve was sitting on the couch, covered in blankets and wearing what looks like three sweaters. "Should we wait here?" Wilson asked. 

Natasha opened her mouth to reply, but before she could Barnes burst threw the door. He was grinning, a peppermint stick sticking out of his mouth, he tossed one to Rogers and jumped into the smaller man's lap. Steve grumbled something but was smiling. He whacked Barnes on the head with his sketchbook before doing something that neither Natasha nor Sam expected. 

Steve leaned his head down and kissed Bucky. Barnes kissed him again after Roger's pulled away and ruffled the blond's hair before leaving Rogers behind when he left for the kitchen. Rogers followed a moment later. 

"I think we should leave. Come back tomorrow or on Christmas. They should be home," Natasha said before leaving the roof. 

XxXxX

December 24, 1940

It was cold. Correction- it was freezing. Christmas Eve in Brooklyn was always cold, but apparently Christmas Eve 1940 was the coldest one Brooklyn's had in a century. 

That didn't seen to bother the couple to much. Steve and Bucky were inside, crowded on their small, old couch with what looked like every blanket they owned on top of them. Bucky looked to be asleep, his arm thrown over Steve's shoulder and his head resting against the blonde's. Steve was drawing, not seeming to notice the weight of the bigger man practically on top of him. 

Natasha was watching them threw the scope of her sniper riffle. She would have preferred her regular gun, but this was much more accurate. She couldn't risk hitting Steve. 

Her fingers were stiff and ice cold. They had been on the rooftop for hours and now she finally had the chance to shoot. She shifted slightly, bending her fingers to try and get the blood moving again. She was about to shoot her old mentor, and the love of her friend, not a random stranger who posses some kind of a threat she would never understand. 

She nudged Sam with her elbow, the signal that she was ready to shoot. But then Sam placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't," he whispered so quietly it was almost lost in the snowfall. "It'll tear him apart- loosing him like that. It'll break his heart. He won't become the man we need him to be." 

Natasha sat back from the gun, her gaze turned from the couple- now whispering and laughing and kissing- to Sam. "Then what do you suggest we do?" 

"We go farther back. Stop them from meeting entirely." 

"That can change Cap." 

"It won't. Well, at least not enough that he won't become Captain America," Sam said, his voice strong with determination and his eyes hard. She always forgets that Sam lost his best friend in the war. She always thought she understood Steve, but Sam knows exactly what is going on inside his head. She always forgets that. 

"Okay. Come up with a plan and let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

September 3, 1924

It took Sam and Natasha a long time to find this day. The perfect day. It's the first day of school and Natasha could see a little Steve hugging his mother's skirt. 

Sarah Rogers looks different then what she expected. After looking at Cap, she pictured a tall, lean woman with light blond hair and baby blue eyes like her son, but Sarah Rogers is actually a stout, short with red hair (not burning like Natasha's but a good red), freckles, and an Irish accent that Natasha could hear from where she was standing. Steve was being told that school wasn't scary, he'd have friends in no time. 

She probably said the same thing to him right before he met Bucky. He wouldn't meet Bucky today though, like he was supposed to. No, Steve Grant Rogers and James Buchanan Barnes's paths will never cross. 

They had bought Steve a scholarship to some fancy, private school called St. Catherine's. He would receive a better education there and would make new friends, ones that hopefully won't become brain washed assassins in the future. 

Steve was led into the classroom by some old nun and that's when Natasha turned and left. 

She met Sam back at the empty lot that will one day be Stark Tower sometime later. "How was Cap's first day?" 

"He seemed fine. Barnes?" 

"Great once they rounded him into the classroom. Seems like everything will be ok though," Wilson replied. She agreed. "Now let's get out of here before we warp the space time continuum or some shit." 

Natasha pulled out the "flip-phone time machine" and typed in the 01/14/2015. They would be home before they even blinked. 

XxXxX

January 14, 2015

The world looks so different then how they had left it, Natasha's first though was that she typed in the wrong date. That thought was quickly smothered when Sam picks up a newspaper- the only newspaper- with the date printed at the top. 

"Wilson, we fucked up," was all Natasha said. Wilson agreed. 

The streets were bustling, as they always did on Wednesdays at six o'clock, but that wasn't what was concerning. It was the bouncing blond curls- ranging from almost white yellow to dirty, almost brown kind of blonde- and the white skin and the blue eyes. 

Unmistakably Arian. 

Everyone's clothes were the same as well. Some were brown or green or blue, but it was the same designs for all of them: white collar shirts, suit jackets, and slacks for men, skirts, white blouses, and jackets for the women. But the most heart-stopping, scary thing was the red Nazi armband wrapped around the bicep of their arm. 

Her fiery red hair and his dark skin made them stick out like sore thumbs. 

Natasha sees the soldiers, dressed sharply in uniform with big ass guns strapped to their backs, wadding threw the crowd towards them. She grabbed Sam's hand in hers and pulled him into the closest shop and back into the bathroom before the clerk could see them. 

"Where the hell are we?" Sam hissed. Natasha looked threw the suitcase until she finally found the bracelets that can change their appearances. Boy, was she thankful that Stark had insisted they packed them. They would probably be dead without them now. She shoved it in Sam's hand and he asked, "what are we doing with these?"

"Put it on. Were going to be killed if we don't fit the Arian requirements right now," she explained. The Falcon's eyes grew larger. 

He swallowed hard. "So you think the... They won because of what we did?" 

"Looks like it yeah." Then silence fell. The Nazi's had won World War II and they are probably the only people on earth without blond hair and blue eyes that are still alive. The rest were probably killed in death camps long ago. 

They both hit the disguise buttons on their bracelets and Natasha swears that seeing Sam Wilson white is the weirdest thing she has ever and will ever see in her whole entire life. Then they went out looking for what happened to Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. 

They found them a day later in an extremely old cemetery. All the headstones were crumbling and weeds grabbed at their feet like hands, but they kept walking until they saw the stone they were looking for. 

"Steven Grant Rogers: beloved son. You will always be loved. July 4, 1918- February 6, 1930."

He was twelve years old. He died from pneumonia, Sam remembered Steve telling him that he had the worst case pneumonia that winter. His mom had to work extra shifts at the hospital to pay for his medicine. Bucky had come over every night and crawled into bed with him. The warmth of his best friend was the only one that kept him alive. 

Barnes's headstone was just a row behind and five to the left.

"James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes: son, hard worker, soldier. September 10, 1918- June 29, 1939."

There was no indication of how he died, just the word soldier implying that he died at the beginning of the the Second Wold War. They would probably never know the specifics, they just knew one thing. 

"We have to go back."


	4. Chapter 4

September 3, 1924

They came months in advance. Five months and twenty days to be exact. 

They posed as a married couple, trying to make it big in New York. It was cliche but that didn't matter as long as they completed their mission. 

So yeah, months. Natasha got a job working at the school Steve and Bucky would be attending. She was a teacher's assistant, only staying on until after the beginning of the new school year. Sam's only job was to make sure their future... past selves? Well, their other selves from coming and paying Cap's tuition to that snazzy private school. 

They never came though. 

Now it's the first day of school and Natasha can see the two boys. Steve is hugging his mother's skirt, just like he did in front of that overpriced Catholic school. Barnes was running around like a manic, not with any other kid, but by himself. His mother left in a hurry after dropping him off. He was probably just ignoring the other kids to avoid socializing, that seems like a Bucky move. 

Then the bell rang and the kids were lead into the classroom. Parents left and the kids sat assigned in alphabetical order around the big colorful carpet. The teacher kept talking about all the things they were going to learn, but the kids didn't pay attention, to busy itching to play with the toys neatly placed on the shelves. 

Then she said the words, "play time" and every kid raced to the toys so fast all Natasha saw was a big blur. Barnes didn't move, just kept staring down at the colorful carpet he was pulling at. Steve had gone to the crayons and looked to be coloring a piece of paper completely blue. 

She crossed the room to Bucky, kneeling down next to him. "Hello, what's you're name?" Natasha asked, the five year old looked up at him with big blue eyes. 

"James Buchanan Barnes," he whispered. "But Mama and Grandpapy call my Bucky." 

"Well, Bucky, why are you just sitting here by yourself? Why don't you go play?" 

"'Cause I don't got any friends," he whispered sadly. Natasha smiled, glancing at the sickly blond kid at the crayons station. 

"How would you feel if I made you a friend?" The second she asked, his eyes lit up and he grinned. 

"Tha'd be swell, ma'am!" He exclaimed and jumped to his feet. 

He had grabbed her hand as she started to walk. He followed, not even giving her a questioning glance when she told him to sit in the chair across the sick kid almost half his height. She stepped away from the table, watching the two boys stare at each other like the other was an alien. 

"Hi," Steve whispered. "Do you wanna color with me?" 

Bucky's eyes moved down to the table. "I don't know how." 

Steve perked up at that. "I can show ya! Ma tells me I'm really good. See, this ones the sky." He held up his picture, colored completely blue with a yellow circle off in the corner. Natasha assumed it was good for a five year old. 

"Whoa," Bucky said, eyeing the portrait. "Can you teach me how to draw like that?" 

"'Coarse!" Steve responded and they went to work. Bucky started to color the whole page green while Steve gave him instructions once in a while. He told Natasha that they were drawing a meadow, the serious look on Steve Roger's face almost made her Burt out laughing. Even at five-years old he had mastered his Captain America face. 

By the end of the day, they were inseparable, and Natasha knew that the world would turn out just fine. 

XxXxX

January 24, 2015

This time was different. Sam and Natasha actually KNEW who Steve was chasing. 

He's risking his life to save James Buchanan Barnes: his best friend, lover, and savior. The one person he couldn't save seventy years ago, but can save now. 

So now, when they show up at a HYDRA base somewhere in Austria, Natasha and Sam have no intention to stop Steve at the first sight of Barnes. There were no words said about giving up on him on the way over here. 

And, boy, are they glad they did. 

Because when Bucky walks out of that building, burning and collapsing behind him along with the rest of HYDRA, instead of running, he drops his gun. He's covered in blood and dirt and grime and he just falls to his knees. 

Steve rushed to him, without a thought for his own safety or Bucky's mental state because he needs him and he knows, he just knows that Bucky needs him to. And Steve's in front of him in seconds. 

"Bucky." 

"It's done. It's all done," he kept repeating and Steve took his hands in his. The soldier didn't pull away. 

"What's done, Buck?" 

"My masters- scientists- HYDRA. I remember, Stevie, please take me home." 

Then Bucky was in Steve's arms and they were both crying, whispering "I love you"s and "to the end of the line"s. They sat there for a long time, just holding each other and forgetting the rest of the world. 

XxXxX

January 24, 2019

Now, Natasha sits on the couch in the living room, attempting at reading. It's only attempting because of the distracting sight in next to her. 

Barnes and Rogers are sitting on the couch next to her, a little boy in between them. "Finding Nemo" is playing on the TV in front of them and the little boy is entranced. 

He's barely three and he's only been living in the tower for about six months after Steve and Bucky adopted him. They don't know much about his past, just that it wasn't good. He was found in a HYDRA facility, having something like the supper soldier serum running threw his veins. Cap and Sarg were the first ones called to give this boy a home and they did without a second thought. 

When they first brought him home, he was scared out of his mind. Now, though, he's opened up a little more, letting his fathers touch him and carry him and even starting to call them Daddy and Papa

Natasha watched the little boy, Kyle is the name he came with, cower back as the shark, Bruce, looses his temper and tries to eat the fish (Steve makes a joke about Bruces and tempers and Bucky laughs). He wraps his fingers in Bucky's and hides behind Steve's beefy arm. 

Steve grinned down at him and Bucky ran his flesh hand threw his shaggy blond hair. "You ok, buddy?" Bucky asked. 

"Scared," the boy whispered. 

"You want us to stop the movie?" Steve asked. Kyle shook his head. "Are you sure? It's perfectly ok if you're scared." He shook his head and crawled into Steve's lap. As soon as the shark part was over, Kyle reemerged from Steve's chest, but didn't leave Steve's lap. 

"Don't like the sharks, pal?" Bucky asked. 

"No," he said. 

"That's ok. Papa and I don't like ice," Steve said. 

Kyle nodded. "That's understandiablediable," he tried to say, tripping over the word. 

Steve and Bucky both laughed and dropped a kiss on the top of their kid's head. And Natasha watched them, mesmerized by the entirely domestic scene. Now, here they are, married with a kid. It's hard to believe that they were once the two little boys teaching each other how to color on their first day of school.


End file.
